Thomas Ochse Honiball

(7 December 1905 - 22 February 1990, South Africa)

Oom Kaspaas Breekwater

Thomas Ochse Honiball is known as the founder of the South-African comic strip. Born in Cradock, Eastern Cape, but raised in Stellenbosch, he showed an early talent by drawing caricatures of his teachers and contributing to the Hoër Jongenschool paper. From 1926, he studied architecture at the University of Capetown and then headed for Chicago to study commercial art. In the States, he discovered comic strips. Upon his return in Capetown (1930) he worked for an advertising firm for a couple of years, before turning freelance. He was hired by the Nasionale Persgroep in 1936 and in 1941, he succeeded D. C. Boonzaaier as the political cartoonist for the daily newspaper Die Burger.

Jakkals en Wolf

Besides his political work, he also created the comic strip 'Oom Kaspaas' for the Naspers group, which appeared in newspaper supplements from 1939 to 1957, and later in Landbouweekblad from 1975 to 1982. His comic 'Jakkals en Wolf' appeared in the children's magazine Die Jongspan between 1942 and 1969, and 'Adoonse van die Magaliesberge' was published in Die Huisgenoot from 1948 to 1968.

Oom Kaspaas

Honiball's comics were very popular, and were also published in books and adapted for radio and TV. Honiball continued to work as a political cartoonist until 1978 and then retired. Written in South-African language, Honiball's work stood out for its humanity and its satirical comments on the South-African society.